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B2Gold CEO Mike Cinnamond on Execution, Buybacks, Dividends & Capital Allocation

Mining Network Jul 20, 2026

Summary

B2Gold's gold prepaids ended in June, freeing roughly $90 million of monthly free cash flow as the producer shifts into cash-harvest mode.

Goose fire remediation combines with the Stage 1 mill expansion in Q3, targeting 3,200 tonnes per day and 4,000 tpd steady state by mid-2027.

Management sees shares at a material discount to NAV (net asset value), prioritizing opportunistic buybacks of up to 10% of the float yearly.

The pending Fekola Regional permit in Mali is the main catalyst; a three-month strip follows approval before incremental ounces reach the mill.

Q1's AISC (All-In Sustaining Cost — what it really costs to produce an ounce) beat guidance on inventory sales and capex timing, with guidance unchanged.

Key points on Agnico Eagle Mines

  • B2Gold's US$325 million sale of its Finnish Fingold assets to Agnico Eagle is cited by the CEO as a key boost to B2Gold's balance sheet and liquidity in the period.
  • The CEO says the Nunavut collaboration agreement with Agnico Eagle, agreed as part of that transaction, is about sharing Arctic know-how, infrastructure ideas and community programs - not something investors should read further into.

Key points on B2Gold

  • The CEO says the final gold prepaids (about 22,000 oz/month) rolled off at the end of June 2026, freeing roughly $90 million of free cash flow per month from July, on top of a balance sheet boosted by the $325 million Fingold sale to Agnico Eagle and the repaid revolving credit facility.
  • On capital allocation, management plans to maintain the US$0.08 per share annual dividend, keep buying back shares opportunistically under an NCIB upsized in April 2026 to up to 10% of the float per year (about 130 million shares on roughly 1.3 billion outstanding), and is not planning cash acquisitions in the near term.
  • The CEO says the early-April fire at Goose was contained to the crushing facility with no injuries, and that Q3 2026 fire repairs combined with the Stage 1 expansion should lift throughput to 3,200 tpd, with Stage 2 in H1 2027 targeting 4,000 tpd steady state for roughly $40-50 million in total.
  • The pending Fekola Regional permit in Mali is the other near-term catalyst: the company has responded to all information requests from the Ministry of Mines and the new mining commission, expects the file to go to the council of ministers, and says a roughly three-month strip means most incremental ounces arrive in 2027.
  • Management still sees the shares trading at about a 50% discount to internal NAV and argues a re-rate depends on executing Goose and Fekola Regional, helped by second-half 2026 free cash flow and the ongoing buyback.

Key points on Versamet Royalties Corp

  • The CEO says Versamet is doing really well and that B2Gold is a happy shareholder, watching it progress as one of its strategic stakes.

Key points on Prospector Metals Corp

  • Prospector is named among B2Gold's existing strategic investments, and the CEO says B2Gold likes taking part in investee technical committees, sharing its expertise while gaining insight into the assets.

Key points on Snowline Gold Corp

  • The CEO counts Snowline among the key strategic stakes B2Gold wants to keep building on, noting the company is doing really well and B2Gold is a happy shareholder.